Month: January 2010

I picture the future filled with online services and lots of wireless access. What is important to believe in is that the future wireless Internet speed would be very, very, very fast — so fast, that there would be no difference in speed/performance when you open an HD movie via local player or via online streaming. Also, the cloud computing infrastructure/achitecture of the future would be so mature that it is almost naturally dependable, reliable and trustable.

This is how I imagine the future of computing:

1. Crystal Slate

The crystal slate is a multi-touch haptics enabled I/O device which can come in different sizes (mobile, mount, window, wall, etc.) depending on the user’s need for it. It gets power wirelessly. It displays content wirelessly. It may support audio I/O as well. The basic OS chip in the crystal slate allows the user to select what COTA to access.

2. COTA

Computer-over-the air is the norm. COTA can be a computer hosted at home, at work or from a COTA service provider.

2.a. COTA at Home

At home, a mobile sized crystal slate is just one of the many ways that the user may interact with the computer at home. Many crystal slates can also be installed in one household. A crystal slate "appliance" is basically a crystal slate that is configured to lock on specific applications on the computer such as an entertainment center (for videos, music, games, etc.) or a communication center (for making voice calls/chats, video calls/chats, e-mails, etc.). Depending on the applications available on the computer, a fully computerized home may have many crystal slate appliances that serve specific functions, which may include the light’s on/off/dimmer switch, for example.

2.b. COTA at Work

The crystal slate at work may be dockable for a full computing experience (the keyboard itself may also be a crystal slate locked to a keyboard application).

2.c. COTA Service Provider

Computers may be hosted via provider for 24/7 operation and support. Users may use the crystal slate to access their COTA account online. COTA service providers may include services such as:

– Hardware (performance) upgrades

– OS upgrades

– Backup/restore

COTA hosted by the service provider may not necessarily be physical computers. The "owner" may also opt to use hosted virtual machines. The service provider has options that would meet specific performance and storage requirements.

I am not the first to say this but people should remember NOT to do things online that might, sooner than later, cause regret.

Many of us today use blogging and micro-blogging sites to self-publish writings about… anything. However, for most of us, we forget about the #1 rule in writing: know your audience.

When you post something online, you have to remember that your audience could be everyone on the Internet — and that most of those in the audience are actually people you DO NOT know. So, for the most part, you should expect that they have no context at all of what you are writing about. If you want to make sure that most of them would actually understand you, then you have to write smartly — not just intelligently, but smartly. Regardless if you’re writing a book, an article or a 140 character long text message, what’s important is that you get to send the intended thoughts right. There is no room for misinterpretations and misunderstandings; and there is definitely no reason for getting jailed just because you shared what’s happening or what’s on your mind.

Knowing your audience allows you to create content that can be accepted and appreciated without causing confusion, madness and chaos. Knowing your audience allows you to write about the things that matter. Knowing your audience allows you to avoid getting in to prison for publishing something stupid. All the more, knowing your audience allows you to filter what you write so you do not expose, too, much information that could put your life and your loved ones’ lives in danger.

Today, social networking sites have revolutionized the amateur art of exhibitionism. We all have the tendency to find our connection in this world. For most of us, there is a need to connect to someone or anyone somehow. We all have something to say (or write) and we all want to be heard (or read). There is really nothing wrong with that. What can be wrong is when we are not being smart in doing it.

Understand that all writers are bias. Now, since most of us are not really professional writers, we have to be more careful about what we write and what we write about. Be sensitive. Be discrete. Be cautious. Your choice of words matters. Even your mood matters. Seriously. The last thing you want to do is to offend a reader you don’t know and get yourself in trouble.

The thing I like best about Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is its smart play on thoughts and speech. Written in 1865, it is one of the best classic books to ever put logical and philosophical monologues and dialogues delivered through symbolic characters. I am currently reading it again and would love to share back my thoughts about it as soon as I’m done (I think I’ll have some new insights about the story now that I’m in my mid-30s).